Mother-of-four crushed to death by dumper truck she was driving as she built ramp for elderly next-door neighbour in Dollis Hill

A mother-of-four renovating property for an elderly next-door neighbour was killed when the dumper truck she was driving in her garden tipped over, relatives said today.

Bridget Curley, a nurse aged in her 30s, was moving earth on a sloping garden at her new home in Dollis Hill, north west London, yesterday morning when the accident took place.

Emergency services, including the London Air Ambulance, were called to the semi-detached property just after 10.20am.

Ms Curley was treated at the scene and taken to a north London hospital but died a short a time later.

Bridget Curley was crushed to death as she carried out renovation work on her garden

Police are still trying to establish the exact circumstances but it is understood that the small dumper vehicle tipped down a slope while she was carrying out the work.

One witness said they later saw a young girl, who was dressed in school uniform, returning to the property and breaking down in tears.

The woman in her 30s was moving earth on a sloping garden at her new home (Nigel Howard)

A relative of her husband today said: “She put light in a room when she came in. She was a great mum. She had four children and she doted on her children, all girls from teenagers down to one year.

“She had a great personality. We are all devastated. Her husband is in total shock. I have spoken to him.”

It is understood that the small dumper vehicle tipped down a slope while the woman was carrying out the work

"She was born in London but her family were originally from Kerry in Ireland," he said.

The relative added: “She was helping build a ramp for her elderly relative next door.”

The brother-in-law of the woman who died today paid tribute, saying: “She was a wonderful woman. It’s a tragedy.”

One neighbour said: “The police have been asking us all if we have CCTV outside our houses in case we caught the moment of the accident.

"No-one I have spoken to saw it."

Witnesses told of the tragic scenes as the family carried out renovations to their garden (Nigel Howard)

Other neighbours said rescuers gathered together in the middle of the street after the resuscitation attempts to say a prayer for the woman.

The witness added: “It’s tragic, just heartbreaking. The people that live at the house have been doing garden renovations for a few days, I heard the vehicle reversing earlier this morning. The woman has been driving it the last few days.”

According to neighbours, the woman, who was said to be a nurse, had only recently moved into the property.

In March, Brent council approved plans for work to be carried out on the next-door property, including the garden.

The application said work would include a new garden outbuilding, landscaping for a bin store, as well as levelling of the garden to allow ramp access into the property.

Official documents showed that both houses were under one ownership.

The Met said an investigation was being carried out by the Roads and Transport Policing Command with support from the Health and Safety Executive’s Office.

A spokesman said: “The incident is not being treated as suspicious and there have been no arrests. Officers are working to establish the full circumstances of what happened.”